Abstract
There are more nursing home or long-term care beds in the United States than acute-care hospital beds. The residents of these facilities, usually elderly, are at risk for infection due to failing immunity and the opportunity for cross-infection. The leading nosocomial infections are urinary tract infections, respiratory infections and infected pressure ulcers. Both endemic and epidemic infections are common. Infection control programmes designed to prevent long-term care infections address such issues as surveillance of infections, epidemic detection, isolation policies, and prevention of resistant bacteria. The role of the physician in long-term care infection control is discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 151-166 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Bailliere's Clinical Infectious Diseases |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 1 |
State | Published - 1998 |
Keywords
- Epidemic
- Infection control
- Long-term care facility
- Nosocomial
- Nursing home
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology
- Microbiology (medical)